Opinion: Guest Opinions

Rudy E. Verner: Trump's immoral climate policies

Secretary of State-designate Rex Tillerson on Capitol Hill last week. Tillerson stepped down as chief executive officer of ExxonMobil when President-elect Donald Trump nominated him to be secretary of state. (J. Scott Applewhite / AP)

Morality, philosophers and priests tell us, is concerned with the consequences of individual and collective action. It asks us to consider not only the effects our actions have on those around us, but on those who are distant and do not have voices of their own. Future generations and even today's children are rightly included in the category of people without real standing when it comes to political affairs. It is up to us to protect their rights and interests, just as our fathers and grandfathers stood up for our right to live in a free society by joining the fight against Nazism in World War II, and the tide of communism in Korea and Vietnam.

The right of future generations to live in a free and prosperous society is in peril today, just as it was then. The only difference is many in this country refuse to acknowledge the threat. Contrary to the opinions of some, it is undeniable that failing to address the threat of climate pollution will have profoundly negative consequences for our children and grandchildren. Those consequences will be measured in terms of increasingly deadly and costly natural disasters, more frequent military conflict, and less reliable sources of food and water. In other words, if we choose not to act, and other nations fail to act as well, we will all but ensure lower standards of living and greater human suffering for future generations.

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This is the definition of an immoral choice.

It follows that policies that intentionally ignore climate change and the rights of future generations to a livable planet are immoral. But those are exactly the policies it appears President-elect Trump will adopt when he takes office, as evidenced by his choices to head the Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy and Interior Departments. The men Trump plans to appoint to these cabinet positions have not simply expressed disagreement over how these federal agencies have operated in the past. They have staunchly opposed or even shown outright hostility to them. Case in point, Trump's pick for secretary of energy, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, ran for president on the promise that he would abolish the Energy Department. These nominations do not bode well for combating the climate threat, as the agencies these men will run are the very agencies with the power — and in the case of the EPA, the obligation — to address the disastrous effects of carbon pollution.

The president-elect's choice for secretary of state is no less disconcerting. As CEO of ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson lobbied against sanctions imposed on Russia in 2014 because the sanctions halted his company's off-shore drilling operations in the Kara Sea. It is naïve to think that Tillerson will not have Exxon in mind when he considers such issues as secretary of state. But what is good for Exxon is not necessarily good for the United States, a country which has historically used sanctions to punish violators of international law. The decision to use such an effective international relations tool should not be swayed by the impact it might have on a private corporations like Exxon. Permitting Tillerson to use the office of secretary of state to advance the interests of the fossil-fuel industry puts our chances of reducing carbon emissions in further jeopardy. It is yet further evidence the president-elect does not take seriously the need to counter the threat that climate change poses to our nation's future.

Coloradans should imagine what their lives would be like if our fathers and neighbors had turned a blind eye to the threats we faced during World War II and the Cold War. Imagine if our parents had chosen cowardice rather than courage in the face of tough odds. I ask you to imagine what the world will be like for our children and grandchildren if we, unlike those who came before us, fail to act in the face of another great threat. As you spend time with your children and grandchildren this holiday season, take time to consider whether Trump's environmental and energy policies will protect their futures, or imperil them. Let morality be your guide.

Rudy E. Verner is a lawyer and climate change activist who lives in Boulder.

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